Claribel Kendall

Born in Colorado to a former lawyer and a housewife, Claribel obtained undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Colorado, joining the mathematics faculty in 1913. In 1917 she helped found the Rocky Mountain Section of the Mathematical Association of America. In 1944 the University of Colorado gave her the title of full professor, she had been instrumental in boosting the percentage of women earning master’s degrees in mathematics. Kendall lived for a few years after retirement. After her death, the Phi Beta Kappa of the school started giving awards named in her honor.